Sermon Tone Analysis

*Christian Freedom: What’s Love Got To Do With It?*

*1Corinthians 8                                 April 6, 2003*

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*Scripture Reading: *Romans 14:19-23

 

*Introduction:*

 

“ To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

They answered him, "We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone.

How can you say that we shall be set free?"  Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.

Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

(John 8:31-36 NIVUS)

 

“ I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope  that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Romans 8:18-21 NIVUS)

 

“ /This matter arose/ because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.”

(Galatians 2:4 NIVUS)

 

“ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

(Galatians 5:1 NIVUS)

 

 “ You, my brothers, were called to be free.

But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”

(Galatians 5:13 NIVUS)

 

“ In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.”

(Ephesians 3:12 NIVUS)

 

 “ But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it— he will be blessed in what he does.”

(James 1:25 NIVUS)

 

 “ Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,” (James 2:12 NIVUS)

 

“ Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” (1 Peter 2:16 NIVUS)

 

Christianity is a war of liberation.

No, I am not making a political statement about the war in Iraq – although there are some parallels there.

I am talking about a more personal war of freedom since Christ sacrificed himself to set us free from sin – and indeed we are free by our faith in him.

But the question is, “How much freedom can you handle?”

Christ had all the knowledge of the universe at his disposal, of course, being God.

But was it his knowledge that won the victory on the cross, or was it his love?

His knowledge as God set him above the bounds of the world, but his love held him to the cross for our good at his expense.

Christ could handle his knowledge well because it was constrained by love.

Knowledge without love is selfish and even dangerous.

Just look at our knowledge of war that we have taken to Iraq.

If that knowledge be not constrained by love (or human responsibility) it accomplishes only destruction with no eventual restoration.

On a personal level, being saved and having the knowledge and freedom of Christ, mature Christians can either be consumed with pride – or constrained by responsibility.

The issue at hand in the Corinthian church was the matter of food sacrificed to idols and the level of participation, if any, Christians were to have – of course keeping in mind that pagan sacrifice was an integral part of the culture of the time.

Any number of parallels can be observed in our own culture with its invitation to partake of its practices.

But just like we have the right to vote and protest in a democracy, if we don’t make the right choices we can lose our freedom.

Christian freedom can be lost if we don’t exercise that freedom in such a way as to maintain that freedom.

This can happen (the threat of this) when we fail to be wise in protecting ourselves from our own weaknesses by over estimating the power of the flesh to resist, or underestimating the power of evil to defile.

The same can happen when we fail to participate in the protection of others since there is a “community effect”.

Government can and must legislate morality.

The church must uphold standards.

We all know (in Christ) about evil and the means to overcome it.

But its warfare against us is like the terrorist tactics of the Iraqi army: you cannot trust anything no matter how innocent it looks.

You will likely die from a suicide bomber if you blindly proceed without precaution.

You may be a Christian and trust God to protect you, but die in your prideful foolishness in failing to apply what you know in protecting yourself.

Wear your gas mask – you are not invincible.

If you love your fellow troops you won’t put them in danger by putting yourself in danger since they depend on you.

If you fall then you cannot help protect them.

Love takes in the big picture.

To be known by God is to have the blessing of God for considering and applying his truth beyond yourself.

You haven’t come into the fullness of knowing God unless you know love.

As in 1John 3:16-24, love is the test of godliness.

So we might dwell on defining it further.

Without love, you have no real relationship with God.

Christian knowledge can lead to arrogance which is selfishness and not love.

In fact, it is no knowledge at all.

Real Christian knowledge is love that puts others above self.

This means there are some things you don’t do because of how it might affect others.

The exercise of your freedom may enslave others who are not yet free.

The Christian life is one of advancing freedom.

We are all progressing in our victory over enslavement.

But if you have advanced further and faster than another, you don’t want to have a hand in triggering his enslavement by your freedom.

/Illus.: Wheaton College issue/

 

You are not free from your enslavement unless you can help liberate someone else.

It is love that liberates.

It is love that sets us free to truly know God and to be truly known by him.

So love is the true knowledge of God.

Anything else, anything less, is Christian arrogance which is sin.

So beware in your knowledge.

Don’t let what you know (which is really what you don’t know if not tempered by love) condemn you.

So if you don’t know love, you don’t know anything yet.

If true, then how many of us can say we know God? (1John 4:16-21)

 

This one thing I know – that there is victory in Jesus (from a previous message in 1Cor.

6), but this other thing I am also convinced of – that God is love.

What separates us is sin.

We need to get past it.

God did.

He loves us in spite of sin.

He loves sinners – not because we are sinners, but because we are made in his image and he sent his son to redeem us.

Can we not love others for the same reasons?

Do you have trouble loving sinners?

If so, you do not yet love God as you should.

We live for God.

We live through Christ.

Now back to the issue of your participation in the world (in it, but not of it).

Maybe you can but others can’t.

So don’t take them there.

Love sets them free – and if they are free, then you are free.

Have you been a Christian for a long time?

If you haven’t grown any closer to being able to love, you haven’t grown at all.

You may be more ignorant that when you started because yo know so much and yet so little.

What you know is useless knowledge if it in not love.

There are many so called gods, but only one God of love.